Solderless connector



2%, 1939. F. B. ADAM ET AL 2351,74

SOLDEBLES S CONNECTOR Filed June 22, 1936 INVENTOR. FREDERICK .B. IQDHM HEN/Pr M .S'TIE'GL I TZ By y ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 28, 1939 PATENT OFFICE SOLDERLESS CONNECTOR Frederick B. Adam, St. Louis County, and Henry M. Stieglitz, St. Louis, Mo., assignors to Frank Adam Electric Company, St. Louis, 110., a corporation of Missouri Application June 2 2, 1936, Serial No. 86,536

4 Claims.

This invention relates to asolderless wire and cable connector for use with either solid or stranded electric conductor.

One object of this invention is to provide a solderless wire or cable connector which can be made as a separate connecting device and bolted onto other electrical apparatus or can be formed integral with the desired electrical apparatus part such as a switch contact, cutout or panell board part.

Another object of this invention is to provide a simple and. inexpensive wire and cable connection terminal which will enable a wireman to connect a wire or cable thereto easily and yet insure of a good clamp tight connection between the wire or cableand the connector.

Another object of this invention is to provide a connector which may be readily formed in one operation from a single bar of conducting ma- !0 terial. I

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a connector which will satisfactorily clamp an eye formed on a conductorend and yet automatically forma wire or cable into proper a5 shape for clamping should the wireman insert a straight piece of wire or cable into the connector.

Further objects and advantages will appear :5 Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the connector shown in Fi 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 1; I

Fig. 4 is an end view 'of the connector shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 1; I

Fig; 6 is a perspective view of a part of the connector shown in Figs. 1-5 where a washerheaded screw is used as the means to clamp the wire in the connector. InFig. 6 the clamping means is not shown. The clamping means may be any one of many means effective for the same purpose, several of which will later be described.

Fig. '7 is a plan view of the connector provided with a cooperating confining member which is useful when a stranded conductor is to be held in the connector; 7

Fig. 8 is a. side elevation of the connector shown 55 in Fig. 7;

I bar member.

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view along line 99 of the connector shown in Fig. '7; and

Fig. 10 shows the connector part secured to another apparatus part.

In all of the various embodiments of the in- 5 vention shown, the same reference numerals are used to denote similar parts.

The complete connector comprises a connector bar member I 0, which may be of some conducting material such as copper, and any one of many 10 suitable clamping or securing means, several of which will be described. The bar member may he formed as a part of someelectrical apparatus, if desired, and the connector may be formed integral therewith. Upstanding edges l2 and l4 l5 are formed along opposite edges of the bar member while upturned corners or lugs l6 and I8 are formed at the end of the upstanding edges adjacent the end of the bar member. A concave depressed portion is formed between the up- 20 standing edges and may be circular in shape as shown. Teeth 2| maybe provided on the surface of the concave portion, if desired, and may comprise concentric ridges as shown or other types of roughened surface. These teeth are not shown incorporated into all the forms of the invention shown as they are not essential to its proper operation, but may be desirable in some instances. A hole or opening 22 is provided through the concave depressed portion of the bar member and allows the clamping means to pass therethrough. The clamping means or means for securing a wire to the connector may consist of a washer headed screw 24 supported in threads 26 in the opening 22 as shown in Figs. 1-5. It is obvious that instead of a threaded opening the washer headed screw could be allowed to pass through the opening and have a nut coact therewith to clamp the wire to the connector, if desired. A reinforced portion 25 is formed on the bar to provide additional surface for threads when they are used in the opening 22. A confining or saddle-shaped member 21 is provided for use where a stranded or larger conductor is to be secured to the connector bar. The saddle-shaped member is provided with flanges 28 and 30 and a convex portion 32 with an opening 34 therethrough between the flanges. A bolt 36 may pass through the opening in the concave portion of the bar member and the convex portion of the confining member. A nut 38 provided with a convex face cooperates with the confining member and bolt to clamp a wire against the The confining member may be constructed so that the flanges thereon slidably engage the upstanding edges on the bar member, thus making it impossible for any of the strands of a stranded conductor to escape from between the clamping surfaces of the connector.

In Fig. 10 a short connector is shown bolted to an electrical apparatus part so that a solderless connection may be made thereto. This type of connector is useful in many instances where interchangeability of uses of an electrical apparatus part is desired. For instance, a particular piece of electrical apparatus may be constructed so that it may be connected by bus bar or by wire to other electrical devices. In such a case it would be necessary to remove the solderless connector from the electrical apparatus when it was desired to connect it to a bus bar instead of a wire. The connection shown in Fig. 10 would be desirous under such conditions. In the connector shown, the under side has been formed flat and smooth so as to make good contact with the bus bar, hence the reinforced portion 25 is omitted since it is not necessary.

It should be understood that in all of the types of connectors shown, the particular form of bolt, washer headed screw or nut used does not form an essential part of the invention and is capable of interchangeability with other means effective for the same purpose. Following are given a few of the many possible variations in the use of the clamping means shown: In Figs. 7-9, instead of using a bolt inserted from the bottom of the bar member and providing a convex face nut to screw down upon the confining member, a convex face bolt could be inserted through the confining member and screwed into the opening in the bar member which in such case could be provided with threads. Instead of threads in the opening, a nut could be provided beneath the bar member to cooperate with such a bolt. Likewise the washer headed screw shown in Figs. 1-5 could be replaced by a screw and separate washer of different shape, if desired, and instead of the threads in the opening of the bar member, a bolt underneath the bar member could be provided; or a bolt could be inserted from the under side of the bar member and a nut with or without a suitable washer could be screwed onto the bolt to clamp the wire to the bar member. It would also be possible to cast the conductor bar and cast integral therewith a threaded member located centrally in the concave portion which would replace the bolt or screws shown, or such a threaded member could be welded to the bar member in proper position.

One of the outstanding features of the connector shown is that it can be formed integral with the bar or conductor of an apparatus part. This may be done in ope operation, or in many instances at the same time that some other part is being formed on another portion of the conductor bar. The connector is so designed that a properly designed die will satisfactorily form the upstanding edges, upturned corners, concave portion and reinforced portion in one operation,

thus materially reducing the cost of production of the connector.

If a wireman forms an eye on the conductor end as in Fig. 1 and inserts the screw through the eye to clamp the conductor to the bar member, the conductor is pushed down into the concave portion where it is clamped tightly. If thewireman inserts a straight wire between the lugs when the screw is partially screwed down, the concave portion of the bar member and the upstanding edges cause the wire to automatically shape itself around the bolt or screw and thence to be clamped securely to the bar member when the screw is tightened. The connector equipped with the saddle-shaped member and designed particularly for stranded wire is equally as efficient.

While we have illustrated but several embodiments of our invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions, additions and omissions may be made in the apparatus illustrated without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. An electrical connector comprising a bar member provided with parallel upstanding edges on opposite sides thereof terminating in upturned comers extending above the edges at the end of the bar member and having a substantially spherical depressed portion between the upstanding edges and means for clamping the.

conductor in the depressed portion and between the parallel upstanding edges.

2. An electrical connector comprising a bar member provided with parallel upstanding edges on opposite sides thereof terminating in upturned corners extending above the edges at the end of the bar member and having a substantially spherical depressed portion between the upstanding edges provided with a plurality of concentric ridges for clamping engagement with a conductor and means for clamping the conductor in the depressed portion and between the parallel upstanding edges.

3. An electrical connector comprising a bar member provided with parallel upstanding edges on opposite sides thereof terminating in upturned corners extending above the edges at the end of the bar member and having a substantially spherical depressed portion between the upstanding edges and means for clamping a conductor in the depressed portion including a saddle-shaped clamping member with a convex portion complementary to the depressed portion of the bar member on its lower side between the flanges and means for clamping the saddle-shaped member to the bar member.

4. An electrical connector comprising a bar member provided with parallel upstanding edges on opposite sides thereof terminating in upturned corners extending above the edges at the end of the bar member and. having a substantially spherical depressed portion between the upstanding edges provided with a plurality of concentric ridges for clamping engagement with a conductor and means for clamping a conductor in the depressed portion including a saddle-shaped clamping member provided with a convex portion complementary to the depressed portion of the bar member on its lower side between the flanges and means for clamping the saddle-shaped member to the bar member.

FREDERICK B. ADAM. HENRY M. STIEGLITZ. 

